BALTIMORE — Brett Gardner’s name has not yet appeared on any of the All-Star balloting updates for the American League roster, but Yankees manager Joe Girardi is hoping that oversight will be corrected.
“I think he’s worthy of being on the All-Star team,” Girardi said. “I think he’s had a great first half defensively, offensively. He’s played every day. I believe he’s an All-Star.”
Gardner, 29, entered play on Saturday batting .288 with seven home runs, 29 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 79 games for New York, coming back from a season in which he was limited to just 16 games due to a right elbow injury.
He has hit safely in 26 of 32 games since May 24, batting .331 (41-for-124) over that span. Gardner has posted a .347 on-base percentage and a .450 slugging percentage entering play on Saturday.
The only Yankees outfielder to rank near the top of any previous All-Star balloting update this season was Ichiro Suzuki, who clocked in at 15th among outfielders in each checkpoint. Robinson Cano has led AL second basemen at each checkpoint.
